Mostly reaching out for more community and an exchange of ideas. Curious about what other people are doing in other parts of the world. Inspired by having a nice connection with Edwin 3 years ago.

2. Is there anything specific you want to engage / participate in?

Bringing empathy into school curriculum into early age / HS / Special Education. Have a particular interest in. Have done some work with groups in school & coaching. Sharing of information for sure.

3. Are you wanting to see what other cultures in other communities are doing?

Absolutely. Personal support in community as well as having a larger group to support.

4. What do you envision the role of this association?

I don’t know enough yet to be able to answer that.

5. What about for yourself? How could you contribute?

I feel like I can contribute a lot with both prenatal and teen years, with groups and individuals, and parents as well as a lot of empirical data.

Vince interviews Christel:

Tell me a bit more about what you do?

I was curious. I wanted to understand empathy because of the energies that lie between people. For example with my husband and how we would exchange energies. I wanted to see how I could control / harness empathy. I have gathered hundreds of articles. Created a website with information and be to put it to test. I have raised my 4 sons based on everything that I’ve learned about empathy and they are so different from any

2. Do you have a special / preferred environment of where you’d like to work?

I do utilize my website and social media. My website has been running for about 17 years now. How could I get it out there. How to trickle it down from employer / employee.. In your daily life. I’m actually developing teaching models at the moment, and focusing to get certified workshops in Australia and can be certified. Want it to be a certification. Developing the whole training modules now and want it to be fully accredited.

3. What part of this would you like to give / share with this association.

I want to share all of it. Want to take empathy to the next level. This is a real skill. Have it be recognized as an accredited skill globally and see the time

Parth interviews Vince

1.Is this your first hangout?

A few weeks ago with Edwin

2. How did your experience with empathy begin?

Students need to know what their doing, they asked me to design training, began to see changes, people listening to one another. People just act wrong because they don’t know better. Restorative circles and changed his perspective completely.

3. How did your perspective change?

Slowly, saw myself in a circle and noticed things happening, people who looked bad, they are like you. It was an emotional change, understood people are sometimes unaware of the pain they are causing, they don’t have any other resources. Empathy is a skill that can be acquired, and if I can obtain this, can be taught.

4. How has engaging in the process of empathy opened up for you on a personal level?

First there was an awareness, you ask silly stuff, you receive the same. Just because I don’t like something a person is doing there is something that connects us.

5. What would you like to see come from this organisation.

We need to have structure, and values, important to have both principals. It needs to be clear, cohesive.

Cath interviews Richard

What you brought you here today and how do you see your involvement in this org?

Working with youth, Pray for Peace, bringing children from different cultures together to change the dynamic of conflict, change their worldview with empathy and passion makes the difference, salespeople may have empathy but not passion as they don’t have the best interest in mind. To interview you need to have empathy, how do you help people develop this, course skills. Empathy in life is so critical. Politics remind us how serious it can be if people don’t develop their skills.

2.You coach people to interview with empathy?

Putting yourself in my position, help the person to think and their thought processes

3. How can the games help?

The games are cooperative games where there are winners and winners, togetherness, laughter, team building, look beyond divisions, especially for children, race, cultural differences, we use games that we can share and pass that on to others. Develop trust, connecting to our common humanity. I’d like to contribute and help to develop, curriculum, practicing being in the mindset, how people are feeling, happy to share anything I have.

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Parth interviews Richard

What compelled you to join?

I’ve known Edwin for many years, when he first started, conversation for happiness and for compassion, mindfulness in schools is a big thing, but empathy is missing, recognise that empathy that fills a very big void. Acts of kindness, mindfulness. Empathy the ability to cultivate the capacity of anothers pains. Organisational, families, parents, how we can dialogue with others, including , a deeper understanding, the choices we can make an impact the environment around us.

2. What do you want to gain?

A number of things, what are the conditions? This group to be an incubator space, what is definition of empathy that we can rely, bring that to the communities. Solutions that you don’t have to feel pain alone. Gather internationally, see each other in a different light for self and others including animals.

Definition of Empathy:

N: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another; the recognition and understanding of another’s feelings, emotions, and experience; the capacity to reflect back another’s experience in a way that leaves another understood; bi-directional process.

Let us start by defining empathy...

Empathy: n. 1. The ability to sense and/or understand emotion(s) from another person, animal, inanimate objects incorporating stimulation to any and or all of the senses (including the 6th Sense) without verbally being told and/or without obvious visual clues. 2. The ability to be sensitive and receptive to outside emotional stimuli. the recognition and understanding of another’s feelings, 3. emotions, and experience; the capacity to reflect back another’s experience in a way that leaves another understood;4. bi-directional process - adj. empathic or empathetic., v. to empathize

Empath: n. 1. A person who has the ability to experience empathy towards another person, and/or animate/inanimate objects, in part or from all of the above definition. 2. A person who is sensitive to the emotions in others.

Cath: It’s about presence with one’s self and presence with another being. It didn’t have anything to do with culture, age. Simply being present to another or one’s self. Feelings first show up in our bodies.

Christel: There are different levels of empathy, trained empathy, how we are raised will determine our ability for empathy, Empathy is about sensing without having obvious clues, sensing another person’s truth, If we don’t acknowledge that which we feel, we stay stuck. Once we acknowledge and move forward from that experience, it’s what opens up the pathway. Digging deeper with our experience of energy, emotions, so that it becomes natural. It’s just a part of who you are naturally.

Family tree of feelings - emotions that are of less intensity. Like if you have hate, has a very powerful energy which can freeze an emotion, then lesser emotions like fear. Frustration, anxiety, stress and there are different triggers, but if you don’t acknowledge what each emotion is bringing you, you stay there, once you acknowledge it, you get to understand it. We get locked in perception.

Richard: Being present to one’s self can be normal, although sometimes we bury and b/c we bury it, we can lash out people. It requires a heart set and mindset and cultivate skills. Evolutionary wise, it’s how we have gotten us where we are.

Vince: My definition of empathy is about mirror neurons and I reflect back to them what they say and they say “yes” and for me that’s empathy. I’m processing what they’re saying. I’m always thinking about how to teach that.

Parth: Empathy is the cultivation of understanding a shared experience. Mirrors and windows. It’s bi-directional

One of the exercises, is looking at baby pictures which generate empathic feelings, then look at other pics and see if those feelings carry over.

Interests in Empathy in the Workplace, developing manuals to teach team leaders/management, aim to have accredited/certified and accepted as a skill that will benefit employment opportunities. Empathy in relationships, global empathy. Sharing and learning.